[HISTORY: Adopted by the Village Board of the Village of
Denmark 7-6-1998 by Ord. No. 98-11 as Ch. 2 of the 1998 Code. Amendments noted where applicable.]
The Village Board shall consist of the Village President and
six Trustees, who shall be elected for two-year terms.
[Amended 6-4-2018 by Ord.
No. 2018-04]
A.
Regular meetings of the Board of Trustees shall be held on the first
Monday of each month at 4:30 p.m. or at such times as the Board may
direct, except that where a regular meeting falls on a legal holiday,
such meeting shall be held on a date mutually agreed upon by the Village
Board (majority vote).
B.
Special meetings may be called by any two Trustees, such request
to be in writing to the President and to be filed with the Clerk,
and may convene and do business at any time when a quorum or more
of the members of the Village Board is present, with the Village President
presiding. The Village Clerk shall, as soon as possible after receipt
of request for a special meeting, notify personally all of the Trustees
of the time, place and object thereof. Such notices shall be given
at least 24 hours before the proposed meeting.
A.
The Village President shall preside. In case of absence of the President,
the Clerk shall call the meeting to order and the Trustees present
shall elect one of their number President Pro Tem.
B.
The presiding officer shall preserve order and decorum, decide all
questions of order and conduct the proceedings of the meeting in accordance
with the parliamentary rules contained in Robert's Rules of Order,
unless otherwise provided by statute or by these rules. Any member
shall have the right to appeal from a decision of the presiding officer.
An appeal shall be sustained by a two-thirds vote of the members present
excluding the President.
A majority of the members of the Board of Trustees shall constitute
a quorum.
The deliberations of the Board shall be conducted in the following
manner:
A.
When a motion is made and seconded, it shall be stated by the President
or read by the Clerk previous to debate. All resolutions should be
made and submitted in writing.
C.
Any member desirous of terminating the debate may move the previous
question, in which event the presiding officer shall announce the
question as "Shall the main question now be put?" If a majority of
the members present vote in the affirmative, the main question shall
be taken without further debate and to bring the Board to a direct
vote, first upon any pending amendments and then upon the main question.
D.
A motion to adjourn shall always be in order, and a motion to adjourn,
to lay on the table, and a call for the previous question shall be
decided without debate.
E.
A roll call shall not be necessary on any questions or motions except
as follows:
F.
All aye and nay votes shall be recorded in the journal.
G.
The Board shall in all other respects determine the rules in its
procedure, which shall be governed by Robert's Rules of Order, ordinance
or statute.
When a question has been once decided, any member of the majority
or, in case of a tie, any member voting in the affirmative may move
a reconsideration thereof at the same or at the next succeeding meeting,
but if a motion to reconsider is made on a day subsequent to that
on which an ordinance question was decided, a vote of the majority
of the entire Board shall be required to sustain it.
[Amended 6-4-2018 by Ord.
No. 2018-04]
A call of the Board shall be ordered at any time by the request
of two or more members and absent members shall be sent for, but a
call cannot be made after voting has commenced. When a call of the
Board has been requested and ordered, the door shall be closed until
the report of a law enforcement officer has been received and acted
upon, or until further proceedings under the call are dispensed with
by a majority of the entire Board.
[Amended 6-4-2018 by Ord.
No. 2018-04]
Whenever any disturbance or disorderly conduct shall occur in
any of the meetings of the Board, the President may cause the room
to be cleared of all persons guilty of such disorderly conduct except
the Trustees. In case any Trustee shall be guilty of disorderly conduct,
the President or presiding officer may order a law enforcement officer
to take him into custody for the time being or until the meeting shall
adjourn. Such member shall have the right to appeal from such order
to the Board as in other cases.
All accounts, reports and petitions shall be referred to the
appropriate committee unless otherwise ordered.
[Amended 6-4-2018 by Ord.
No. 2018-04]
A.
All general ordinances of the Village and all regulations imposing
any penalty shall be published either in their entirety or as a notice
as provided in § 61.50(1), Wis. Stats., in the official
paper of the Village once and shall be immediately recorded, with
the affidavit of publication, by the Village Clerk in a book kept
for that purpose. A printed copy of such ordinance or regulation in
any book, pamphlet, or newspaper and published or purporting to be
published therein by direction of the Village Board shall be prima
facie proof of due passage, publication and recording thereof.
[Amended 6-4-2018 by Ord.
No. 2018-04]
B.
All ordinances shall take effect and be in force from and after passage
and publication, unless otherwise provided, and published copies thereof
shall have appended the date of first publication.
These rules shall not be rescinded or amended unless the proposed
amendment or motion to rescind has laid over from a regular meeting,
and then it shall require a vote of 2/3 of all the members of the
Board.
These rules shall not be suspended except by a two-thirds vote
of all members of the Board.
[Added 11-4-2019 by Ord.
No. 2019-09]
A.
General. The Village Board shall be vested with all the powers of
the Village not specifically given some other officer. Except as otherwise
provided by law, the Village Board shall have the management and control
of the Village property, finances, highways, streets, navigable waters,
and the public service, and shall have the power to act for the government
and good order of the Village, for its commercial benefit and for
the health, safety, welfare and convenience of the public, and may
carry its powers into effect by license, regulation, suppression,
borrowing, taxation, special assessment, appropriation, fine, imprisonment,
and other necessary or convenient means. The powers hereby conferred
shall be in addition to all other grants and shall be limited only
by express language.
B.
Cooperation with other municipalities. The Village Board, in behalf
of the Village, may join with other villages or cities in a cooperative
arrangement for executing any power or duty in order to attain greater
economy or efficiency, including joint employment of appointive officers
and employees.
C.
Acquisition and disposal of property.
(1)
Except as provided in Subsection C(2), the Village Board may acquire property, real or personal, within or outside the Village, for parks, libraries, historic places, recreation, beautification, streets, waterworks, sewage or waste disposal, harbors, improvement of watercourses, public grounds, vehicle parking areas, and for any other public purpose; may acquire real property within or contiguous to the Village, by means other than condemnation, for industrial sites; may improve and beautify the same; may construct, own, lease and maintain buildings on such property for instruction, recreation, amusement and other public purposes; and may sell and convey such property. Condemnation shall be as provided by the Wisconsin Statutes.
(2)
The Village Board may not use the power of condemnation to acquire
property for the purpose of establishing or extending a recreational
trail; a bicycle way, as defined in § 340.01(5a), Wis. Stats.;
a bicycle lane, as defined in § 340.01(5e), Wis. Stats.;
or a pedestrian way, as defined in § 346.02(8)(a), Wis.
Stats.
D.
Acquisition of easements and property rights. Confirming all powers
granted to the Village Board and in furtherance thereof, the Village
Board is expressly authorized to acquire by gift, purchase or condemnation
under the Wisconsin Statutes any and all property rights in lands
or waters, including rights of access and use, negative or positive
easements, restrictive covenants, covenants running with land, scenic
easements and any rights for use of property of any nature whatsoever,
however denominated, which may be lawfully acquired for the benefit
of the public or for any public purpose, including the exercise of
powers granted under §§ 61.35 and 62.23, Wis. Stats.;
and may sell and convey such easements or property rights when no
longer needed for public use or protection.
E.
Village finances. The Village Board may levy and provide for the
collection of taxes and special assessments; may refund any tax or
special assessment paid, or any part thereof, when satisfied that
the same was unjust or illegal; and generally, may manage the Village
finances. The Village Board may loan money to any school district
located within the Village or within which the Village is wholly or
partially located in such sums as are needed by such district to meet
the immediate expenses of operating the schools thereof, and the board
of the district may borrow money from the Village accordingly and
give its note therefor. No such loan shall be made to extend beyond
August 30 next following the making thereof or in an amount exceeding
1/2 of the estimated receipts for such district as certified by the
state superintendent of public instruction and the local school clerk.
The rate of interest on any such loan shall be determined by the Village
Board.
F.
Construction of powers. For the purpose of exercising the largest measure of self-government in accordance with the spirit of Article XI, Section 3, of the Constitution of the State of Wisconsin, it is hereby declared that this section and all other parts of the Code shall be liberally construed in favor of the rights, powers and privileges of the Village to promote the general welfare, peace, good order and prosperity of the Village and the inhabitants thereof.
